Deadline: 5 June 2025
The Authored Works scheme provides film artists with the creative and editorial freedom to make a feature-length authored cultural film work from a strong artistic point of view.
Funding Information
- A total fund of up to €247,500 will be made available to the successful applicant.
- This includes:
- A production budget of up to €230,000.
- Further exhibition support of up to €17,500.
- Only proposals for films that can be made within the production budget of €230,000 will be considered.
Eligible Costs
- The main artists, individuals, groups or organisations involved in your proposal
- Partners, mentors or collaborators
- Production staff
- Core staff or key administrative personnel
- Examples of support may include:
- An ISL interpreter for a participant or participants
- Services of an access support worker
- Additional rehearsal or studio time.
Ineligible Costs
- Completion funding
- Major capital purchases
- Ongoing core costs
- Costs that do not fit the purpose of the award
Ineligible Activities
- Script or project development
- Conventional film (e.g. mainstream short film, animation) and television drama
- Arts documentaries (please refer to the Reel Art Award)
- Moving-image projects for exhibition in galleries – such projects are more suited to the Visual Arts Project Award
- Activities delivered in a formal education setting (including work for PhD programmes)
- Activities that are focused on the business of film-making
- Activities that are more suited to another award funded by the Arts Council or operated by other state agencies, including broadcasters, Screen Ireland or Culture Ireland
- Activities that have already taken place
- Activities undertaken for charity-fundraising purposes, for participation in a competition or for primarily profit-making purposes
- Activities that have already been assessed by the Arts Council, unless you demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Arts Council that you have significantly developed the proposal since previously applying or if the Council has specifically advised you to redirect your application to this award
Eligibility Criteria
- The award is open to film artists applying as individuals or through their own production company.
- Note: Any grant offered will only be paid into a bank account held in the name of the applicant, and the applicant will be required to accept the terms and conditions of that grant.
- To be eligible to apply, applicants must be resident in the Republic of Ireland.
- However, they may accept applications from outside the Republic of Ireland. In this case, you must detail in your application form how your proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland. They would need to be satisfied with your explanation.
Ineligibility Criteria
- They won’t be able to accept your application if you are:
- Currently in undergraduate or postgraduate education, or will be during the period for which this award is offered.
Application Requirements
- A completed Authored Works Award application form
- Detailed up-to-date CVs (max. three pages) of the creative team involved in the proposal, including director, producer, writer, editor
- Treatment of the proposed work (maximum 6 x A4 pages). This should be uploaded as a supporting document and should be labelled ‘Treatment’
- Notes outlining intended approach
- Detailed budget, which must account for deliverables, including HoH captions and audio description, and could include music and subject clearances as necessary. This budget must be in addition to the budget information provided in the application form
- Evidence of ownership of rights (copies of all option and writer’s agreements entered into in respect of story and script if applicable to the project)
- Written confirmation in the form of clearances and permissions of key subjects’ willingness to participate
- Examples of the artist’s recent work in film that are indicative of their film practice and inform the proposed work. These should be in the form of three ten-minute (max.) excerpts and should not be presented as a showreel. You may submit these as video files or as links included in a text document. Please note that links to material hosted on sites other than YouTube or Vimeo will not be viewed, and your application will be deemed ineligible.
- An indicative exhibition strategy for the proposed work. This should be uploaded as a supporting document and should be labelled ‘Indicative Exhibition Strategy’.
For more information, visit The Arts Council.